No Step for Womankind

James Pan • June 11, 2025

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Those famous words were spoken by astronaut Neil Armstrong nearly six decades ago, as he became the first human to step on the moon. Armstrong’s statement demonstrated that space travel was once a symbol of human ingenuity and scientific progress. While missions were carried out by small crews of astronauts, they were seen as part of a broader endeavor by humans to conquer the unknown and uncertain. Nowadays, space travel is the complete opposite. It is no longer conducted for the public good, but as the pet projects of tech billionaires and for-profit corporations. Space exploration is no longer a symbol of courage and ingenuity, but a new medium in which out-of-touch celebrities can virtue signal in pursuit of increasingly obscene levels of fame. Katy Perry’s Blue Origin flight is modern space travel par excellence. It is tone-deaf, performative, and lacks any semblance of authentic scientific value. It is demonstrative of the ironic predicament humanity now finds itself in: as the world burns, the ultra-wealthy responsible look to the stars, leaving the rest of the world to pick up their mess.

The flight in question occurred on April 14 and was hailed as a historic accomplishment due to the involvement all-female crew that included Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn. Only 4 minutes of the 11-minute trip were spent in space, during which Katy Perry sang Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” as a celebration of humanity. She held up a daisy in honor of her daughter, who is named after the flower. After the mission, Perry explained in a series of interviews that the purpose behind her involvement was to inspire other women to follow in her footsteps (New York Post).

If one only examines Perry’s own explanation of the motivation behind the trip, the Blue Origin mission appears to have been conducted for commendable reasons. However, it takes little more than examining the context surrounding it to understand why the overwhelming response from the public was critical. Reserving a seat via Blue Origin’s website requires a $150,000 deposit, but it is estimated that the actual cost for tickets goes well into the millions (Forbes). If the mission was meant to send the message that space ought to be accessible to everyone, delivering it aboard an exorbitantly-priced flight operated by a private corporation was certainly the wrong means to do so. The experience aboard this flight was only accessible to the ultra-wealthy who could pay to do so, which makes it difficult for millions of people throughout the world just scraping by to relate. If Blue Origin genuinely intended to make history by making women feel like they belong in space, the trip would have been better served by a crew chosen based on merit. If they wanted to inspire young girls, choosing a scientist instead of a celebrity would have conveyed a more authentic message about making space accessible. On the contrary, they chose Katy Perry, who is neither an astronaut nor a scientist and has no experience in space. The choice to select her shows where Blue Origin’s priorities lie — in orchestrating a PR stunt for their company and making a profit off of rich people having fun. For many, space — once a frontier for scientific inquiry and human ambition — has now become a playground for the wealthy to have fun. It is no wonder that the public saw Perry’s flight as what it was: a fun activity for the wealthy and privileged under the guise of helping the marginalized.

“I am not sure whether [Perry] actually wanted to send a message,” sophomore Alex Wilner said. “It seemed like this trip was mainly for them to have fun, but choosing [publicizing] it and then pretending [it is] to empower women [among] other reasons comes off as disingenuous.”

Katy’s message also comes off as incredibly tone-deaf, especially in the face of global crises such as climate change, rising inequality, and widespread violent conflict. For the many women who still lack basic access to necessities such as healthcare, proper nutrition, and education, watching some of the most privileged people in the world floating around and singing does little to distract from the terrestrial struggles they have to face on a daily basis. Going to space for ten minutes does not magically wish away the systemic barriers women still face in the workplace or rampant misogyny. Katy Perry’s trip to space is virtue signaling 101 — it assuages the wealthy’s need to feel like they’re giving back to the marginalized while not doing anything of substance to remedy any of the issues they actually face. It is a good thing that the most influential members of society use their position to help those less privileged than themselves, but that should be done through supporting genuine advocacy and reform, not empty statements.

“I am [unsure] what benefit people gained from [Perry’s] trip in space,” sophomore Aadi Bhagat remarks. “So many people across the world [do not] even have food to eat or water to drink. [Events] like this obviously [do not] do anything about the real issues a lot of people face and probably distract from the causes of them.”

Katy Perry’s spaceflight with Blue Origin is not an inspiring tale for female empowerment, but another example of how increasingly disconnected the most wealthy and privileged members of society are from the rest. If their goals are truly to help the marginalized, then that should be done through tangible action, not empty-handed virtue signaling. It is important to recognize that it is the masses who give celebrities like Katy Perry their position of influence to speak out about the issues of their choice. It is imperative that individuals act to keep their public figures accountable, which is the first step in many to actualizing genuine change.

“The reason people [like Katy Perry] are [successful] is because [people] are fans of them,” explains freshman Nathan Li. “We can hold them [accountable] if we find out [they are] doing something bad, which can have a large effect since [celebrities] influence a lot of people.”